High Court Sets Dates to Hear Health Care Law Arguments

The Supreme Court will hear 5.5 hours of oral arguments on the health care reform law March 26-28, 2012, according to Reuters.

On March 26 the court will hear 1 hour of arguments on whether the legal challenges to the requirement that all Americans buy insurance must wait until after that part of the law has taken effect in 2014 and the penalty for failing to comply is imposed.

The court is slated to hear 2 hours of arguments on March 27 on the constitutional issue that is "at the heart of the battle -- whether Congress overstepped its powers by adopting the insurance purchase requirement known as the individual mandate," Reuters says.

On March 28, the court will hear 90 minutes of arguments on whether the rest of the law can survive if the mandate is struck down. On that same day, it will hear 1 hour of arguments on whether Congress "improperly coerced the states to expand the Medicaid program."